53k quote for a 14.4kw system, now looking at diy

[dalack]

Got a $53,280.00 solar install quote for a 14.4 kw system from Goso technologies in Boston .

Home - GOSO Technologies

goso.tech

ESTIMATED YEARLY PRODUCTION 16,935 kWh

I have included my monthly uses as attachment

This includes

36 Hanhwa QCELL G10+ 400W ALL BLK panels

36 Enphase IQ7PLUS-72-2-US micro inverters

Federal Tax Credit $19,852.00

MA Solar Tax Credit $1,000.00

MA SMART Program $3,295.51

Net System Cost $29,132

I'm thinking even with tax credits this price seems to be gouging for what i'm getting.

The panels will be mounted on my roof and garage roof so I don't think I will have a shade issue. Are micro inverters overkill for this situation?


Seems I can buy a pallet and a half of SOLAREVER 445W MONO SOLAR PANELS for about $7200 plus shipping on ebay.

PALLET OF 20 AMERICAN MADE SOLAREVER 445W MONO SOLAR PANELS W/ 25 YEAR WARRANTY | eBay

Pallet Quantity: 20 Panels. Warranty: 25 LINEAR MANUFACTURE WARRANTY.

www.ebay.com

Then two 7.6kW 240V Grid Tie Inverter By Solar Edge for $669 each

7.6kW 240V Grid Tie Inverter By Solar Edge - Battery Backup Additions Possible | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 7.6kW 240V Grid Tie Inverter By Solar Edge - Battery Backup Additions Possible at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

Even if I have to spend $2000 on mounting and wiring i'm only at about $11,000.

Does this seem like a good setup or are my components sub par compared to the quote I got?

What is the going average rate for a 14.4kw system?

Thanks for all your input

David

 

[HighTechLab]

a lot of solar companies will markup your quote the same $$ as your federal tax credit. This way you think you are getting a good deal, and they are getting a major payday! This is the same reason products like the Sol-Ark and Fortress Power batteries are very high for what they are; because they know that uncle sam is going to be covering the difference.

 

[dalack]

Yeah, thats what I figured to some degree. Seems like I can pay this system off if I go diy in a couple of years and with their system three times as long.

Do you think the system i'm proposing will function comparably with the goso system. I don't really care so much about long term since I'll be saving so much in so little time

 

[koppted]

Yeah, similar to system I'm going to get done. Will cost about $12,000 to $15,000 depending on the components I would get. An installer wanted to Charge me $30,000 to $40,000. Yeah I know they have to make a profit, but they are not entitled to a killing. Which is what they all seem to want to do.

 

[Phil.g00]

Let's see what it costs you after school fees are paid. Good luck.

 

[dalack]

school fees?

 

[Phil.g00]

Ask around.

 

[Phil.g00]

Ask around.

Maybe that was a bit flippant.
I reckon 20% plus of first-time builds are unnecessary spending, just because the builder thinks he knows better.
This is the price of school fees, a first time builder very rarely knows better.

 

[Will Prowse]

Get a few quotes. At least 3. Try Tesla solar. Prices are going up for grid tie solar right now.

Most of these guys are loan sharks. Be careful out there. Get as many quotes as possible.

 

[houseofancients]

Maybe that was a bit flippant.
I reckon 20% plus of first-time builds are unnecessary spending, just because the builder thinks he knows better.
This is the price of school fees, a first time builder very rarely knows better.

which is why here he has an enormous resource to help him prevent that.

 

[GXMnow]

After doing the research 3 years ago, I ended up going with Enphase, even with just mild shadows in the early morning and late evening. There is a lot more to it than just the panel optimizing. Solar Edge also has panel optimizing, and you have to add in the cost of the optimizer for every panel. A basic string setup can save some money, but most locations are now requiring ARC fault protection and Rapid Shut Down. Both the Optimizers and the microinverters have them built in, but it was going to add a solid $1,200 or so to add those functions to a basic string inverter or DC charge controller system.

For me, the big decision was system reliability. Yes, I now have 16 separate inverters on my roof, so the chances of any one failing is a bit more, but if one does fail, I will see it on my monitor app, and the other 15 will not be effected at all. Each one stands alone. Even if a solar panel gets smashed, it won't effect the output of the other 15. And by looking at my per panel production from time to time, I can easily spot if something is going wrong. In my second year, 3 panels lost production because a palm tree grew 3 feet and was making a shadow across them in the evening.

The other part to think about is the plans and permitting. I was very close to ordering a DIY setup from Go Green Solar, or Unbound Solar (they were Wholesale Solar 3 years ago). They both offer a service where they will draw up the plan set for you to take to the city to get the permits. In my home town, the permitting process is a major pain, and my work got very busy, so I did end up hiring a contractor to do the actual install and deal with the city for me. I spent an extra $5,000 over the cost of just buying the equipment, and that turned out to be a bargain. I ended up paying $17,000 USD out of pocket for the entire system, fully permitted, installed, inspected, and the NEM paperwork all filed with the utility as well. My system is a bit smaller, just 16 x 300 watts = 4,800 watts of panels. It produced 8,000 kilowatt hours a year the first 2 years, and it on path to beat it in the third year. I got in on the 30% tax credit, so I got about $5,100 back. Put's my system cost at $11,900 USD, or about $2.50 per watt. Your proposed system is 3 times the panel wattage. That is a big system. Your cost per watt after the rebates is just over $2.00 per watt, so it's not a bad deal. Assuming you really need that much power. You are a bit further north than I am, so you won't get as much energy per system watt, but did you compare the system production to what you really use? And if this is grid tie only, have you verified what the NEM deal will be? My system is making about 2/3 of my energy, but due to the time of use rates I was pushed onto with the Net Energy Metering (NEM 2.0) I still ended up paying a bit over half my old electric bills. Now that I added battery storage, I have gotten rid of the peak rate energy charges. Instead of selling my extra production to the utility, and buying it back at twice the cost, I store it in a battery bank and use it locally in the evening. Batteries are still expensive, so this does not save that much more money, but it sure feels better to not get hose for the peak rate power, and I also now have backup power when the grid fails. Without battery storage, a grid tie system has to shut down if the grid goes out.

 

[timselectric]

Grid tied.
The beginning of future regrets.

 

[DJSmiley]

for 36 panels?
Thats quite a lot of money.

Assume $280 for the panels, and $175 for the Enphase modules, you're totalling at 16k, without any credits.

Just a rough estimate of $10k on mounting, wiring and labour, would be <30k in total.

With regular inverters its cheaper. And unless there are specific issues regarding shade (trees, chimneys and so on) I don't see the benefit of micro inverters.
I usually would prefer a regular inverter (or 2, eg 1 for east and 1 for west-side), preferably one which has battery support, so in the future you can add batteries for local storage.

The panels from Ebay look fine, but to be honest, those are 'normal' (cheaper) panels compared to the more aesthetically pleasing full black panels. (which are more expensive). If that matters is up to you to decide.

I personally would prefer 445Wp 'less beautifull' over 400Wp 'nice black', but if there are any restrictions (neighbourhood regulations, wife) you might have to go for the more beautifull ones.

 

[12VoltInstalls]

have included my monthly uses as attachment

What is your price/KWh from the utility?

Then you can calculate whether the installed solar is a potential investment or expense.

Are micro inverters overkill for this situation?

Not criticizing mean-like but that is the wrong question. Microinverters are a good approach depending on the goals. They may not be the best choice for your application- if battery backup in grid-down is a goal microinverter based systems are narrower in product depth at the higher end and not as prevalent in more budget friendly situations.

SOLAREVER 445W MONO SOLAR PANELS

$0.53/watt isn’t terrible
And thirty panels is 13,350watts
(I’d reserve a few not installed for replacements if needed. But that’s just me)

Batteries for peak-rate avoidance and grid-down are going to be the expensive thing.

7.6kW 240V Grid Tie Inverter By Solar Edge for $669 each

You need a few other things for this/these to work for you. Transformer/phase splitter, certain other oem components, possibly a separate auto transfer switch depending on local code interpretation.
And you’ll need to confirm the ul listings to assure your local taxachussetts code office will permit them. While they look ok, as you know Boston is not flexible in code.

Do you think the system i'm proposing will function comparably with the goso system

Again maybe the wrong question.
A solid design is likely to produce the expected results. Battery backup adds another layer of design that can be done with either example. Or other components acting quite differently to accomplish the expected results could be a better choice.

Get a few quotes. At least 3. Try Tesla solar

That doesn’t hurt. The higher the social and economic gouge the less you should be worried about wasting people’s time.

 

[MarkSolar]

Thanks for all your input

There's no simple obvious answer that works for everyone, you need to evaluate things in the context of your situation. I decided to go grid tie because batteries were so expensive. I use my house for a thermal battery when possible. Right now it's cold here and natural gas prices are really high, so I try to get the house as hot as possible during sunny days by using five 1500W electric heaters spread around the house. That allows me to save a lot on our gas bill. I never would have imagined a year ago that I'd be using solar to heat my house. In the summer I run the central A/C on sunny days and get the house down to about 60 during the afternoon, then I can shut it off until later at night when electric grid prices go back down. We also had a whole house automatic backup generator long before we had solar, so batteries offered us no benefit for backup power because we already owned that. We have a farm and I also have a 12kW generator that mounts on the back of the tractor. So we can use natural gas, or diesel to keep ourselves going if there's a power emergency. We have livestock that needs water heaters and barn fans, so the power has to be on. Sizing batteries to last through an outage of unknown length is impossible. The other problem with batteries for us is the cold climate. I would need to run wire to a small room in the barn that we keep above freezing and put the batteries in there. My friend lives in rural remote New Mexico and they wanted $100K to run electric lines to his house, so batteries were the obvious right choice for him.

To answer your question about pricing, I installed a 10kW system myself for $15K, it's ground mounted and grid tied, but that was a year ago and prices are really going up. Your price seems exceptionally high to me, I'd agree with others who suggest getting more quotes. You also didn't mention if you're handy, it's not rocket science to install this stuff, you just need to study up and take care. There are programs that will help you identify whether your panels would be shaded during the year, that might help predict your power production and savings.

 

[Mike 134]

Let's see what it costs you after school fees are paid. Good luck.

it ain't rocket science, in fact the install portion on the roof is easily handled by a 1st year apprentice. The inverter and final connection I'd leave to a 4th year apprentice.

 

[TheLoneAquarist]

it ain't rocket science, in fact the install portion on the roof is easily handled by a 1st year apprentice. The inverter and final connection I'd leave to a 4th year apprentice.

Following up on this thread. How does one find a contractor to do the work to install a diy system? Am I looking for just general electricians? A lot of information everywhere is about DIY and how to avoid the solar brokers but nothing about going the contracting / self-purchasing equipment route.

 

[42OhmsPA]

Following up on this thread. How does one find a contractor to do the work to install a diy system? Am I looking for just general electricians? A lot of information everywhere is about DIY and how to avoid the solar brokers but nothing about going the contracting / self-purchasing equipment route.

Start here.

Job Posting Corner

Find a business or individual to install an off grid system for you! Or a career in the solar industry. Use this section at your own risk. This forum is not liable for jobs or work posted below.

diysolarforum.com

 

[timselectric]

Diy stands for Do It Yourself.
Contractors don't install diy systems.
Unless they are installing it on their own home.

 

[TheLoneAquarist]

Diy stands for Do It Yourself.
Contractors don't install diy systems.
Unless they are installing it on their own home.

I know that. I just don't know how to refer to a hybrid approach of self contracting the install.